Operatively interlocked electronic system

ABSTRACT

A first electronic apparatus is provided with a relay energized at a low voltage, the relay having a contact connected in parallel with a power supply switch for the first electronic apparatus. The first electronic apparatus is further provided with a signal generator circuit for energizing a second electronic apparatus. An output signal generated from a third signal generator circuit of a third electronic apparatus is applied to the coil of the relay of the first electronic apparatus thereby to operatively interlock the first electronic apparatus with the third electronic apparatus. Alternatively, an output signal generated from a signal generator circuit of the first electronic apparatus is applied to a relay of the second electronic apparatus having a contact through which power is supplied to the second electronic apparatus, thereby operatively interlocking the second electronic apparatus with the first electronic apparatus.

This invention relates to an operatively interlocked electronic systemwhereby a television receiver, a stereophonic amplifier, a taperecorder, a VTR and other electronic apparatuses are capable of beingoperatively interlocked.

The conventional interlocked electronic system undergoes variousinconveniencies as will be described later with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

An object of the present invention is to provide an operativelyinterlocked electronic system in which one electronic apparatus iseither operatively interlocked with other electronic apparatus oroperated independently of the other electronic apparatus as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide an operatively interlockedelectronic system in which a couple of electronic apparatuses arecapable of being operatively interlocked with each other byinterchanging a small electric power therebetween.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an operativelyinterlocked electronic system in which the switching of the power supplyis easily and safely capable of being subjected to remote control.

A further object of the invention is to provide an operativelyinterlocked electronic system in which a cathode-ray tube, if any, of anelectronic apparatus is capable of being maintained in preheated state.

In order to achieve the above-described objects of the invention, theoperatively-interlocked electronic system according to the presentinvention comprises: a first electronic apparatus including a first ACpower supply, a rectifier circuit to which electric power is suppliedfrom the first AC power supply, a first load circuit to which the outputof the rectifier circuit is applied, a manual power switch inserted inthe line connecting the first AC power supply to the first load circuitthrough the rectifier circuit, and a signal generator circuit connectedto the first AC power supply for decreasing the voltage of the AC powersupply and generating a control signal; a second electronic apparatusincluding a second power supply, a second load circuit and an automaticswitch inserted between the second power supply and the second loadcircuit; means for applying the output signal from the signal generatorcircuit to the automatic switch when the manual power switch is closed;and means for supplying electric power from the second power supply tothe second load circuit by closing the automatic switch in response tothe control signal.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the interlockingbetween a conventional stereophonic amplifier with a switched plugsocket and a television receiver;

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the operatively interlockedelectronic system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the connecting device forconnecting the input terminal section and the output terminal section ofa power supply driving a relay;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the connecting device forconnecting the input terminal section and the output terminal sectionfor the purpose of remote control of the operatively interlockedelectronic system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a voltage introducing device forcollecting a voltage from the power supply driving the relay and

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing another example of one of theelectronic apparatuses included in the operatively-interlockedelectronic system shown in FIG. 2.

The conventional connection of typical electronic acoustic apparatusessuch as the television receiver and the stereophonic amplifier is asshown in FIG. 1. In this drawing, reference numeral 1 shows astereophonic amplifier, numeral 2 a television receiver including arectifier circuit 71, a constant voltage circuit 72 and a load circuit73, numeral 3 a switched plug socket for the stereophonic amplifier 1,numeral 4 a manual power switch, numeral 41 a fuse, and numerals 5, 5junction points provided inwardly of the fuse 41 and to which theswitched plug socket 3 is connected.

Numeral 25 shows a load circuit for the stereophonic amplifier 1,numeral 6 power cords for the stereophonic amplifier 1 which isconnected to a house-service power supply, numeral 7 a power switch forthe television receiver 2, and numeral 8 a power plug for the televisionreceiver 2.

When the power plug 8 is kept inserted in the switched plug socket 3with the power switch 7 for the television receiver 2 closed, thestereophonic amplifier 1 is operatively interlocked with the televisionreceiver 2 by opening and closing the power switch 4 of the stereophonicamplifier 1.

It often happens, however, that general users connect an electronicapparatus of large power consumption to the switched plug socket 3provided for the stereophonic amplifier 1, without the knowledge of theallowable power of the switched plug socket 3, resulting in the fuse 41of the stereophonic amplifier 1 being blown out.

Also, in some color television receivers, a rush current several tentimes the steady-state current flows, so that the fuse 41 is likely toblow out or the switch 4 fail when the color television receiver isconnected to the switched plug socket 3.

In the state where the power plug 8 for the television receiver 2 isinserted in the switched plug socket 3 of the stereophonic amplifier 1,the independent operation of the television receiver 2 is impossible. Ifthe television receiver 2 is to be operated independently, the powercircuit for the stereophonic amplifier 1 must be inconveniently closed.

In view of the fact that the stereophonic amplifier 1 but not thetelevision receiver 2 is generally provided with the switched plugsocket 3, the interlocked operation is impossible for energizing thestereophonic amplifier 1 by closing the power switch 7 for thetelevision receiver 2.

Further, in the case where it is desired to operate the stereophonicamplifier 1 and the television receiver 2 at a remote point from thepower supply, a switch is required to be inserted in the middle of alengthened power cord. The lengthening and connecting the switch asabove by general users lacking the correct knowledge of the electricityis very dangerous as it often leads to a case of electric shock or afire.

Still another disadvantage of the above-mentioned conventional system isapparent in the interlocked operation of a television receiver or otherapparatus having a cathode-ray tube with a different type of electronicapparatus, in which case the absence of the preheating of thecathode-ray tube before the interlocked operation causes a high voltageto be applied each time of the interlocked operation to the anode of thecathode-ray tube before the cathode of the cathode-ray tube is heated.As a result, electrons are emitted from a cold cathode, thus peeling offthe oxide film of the cathode and shortening the life of the cathode-raytube.

Referring to FIG. 2, the AC voltage obtained by way of the power supplyplug 12 is applied through the manual power switch 15 to the rectifiercircuit 14. The output of the rectifier circuit 14 is applied to theload circuit 256 of the television receiver 11 through the smoothingcircuit 141 and the constant voltage circuit 142. The AC voltage isapplied through the switch 15 also to a signal generator circuit 19comprising a voltage-reducing transformer having a primary coil 151 anda secondary coil 152 insulated from each other. The two ends of thesecondary coil are connected to the terminals 211 and 212 of the outputterminal section 21 respectively. The contact 17 of the relay 16 isconnected in parallel to the power switch 15, and the two ends of thecoil 171 are connected to the terminals 221 and 222 of the inputterminal section 22 respectively.

The AC voltage obtained by way of the power supply plug 12' is appliedthrough the manual power switch 15' to the rectifier circuit 14' andfurther to the load circuit 256' of the stereophonic amplifier 27. Asignal generator circuit 19' comprising a voltage-reducing transformerhaving the primary coil 151' and the secondary coil 152' insulated fromeach other is also impressed with the AC voltage through the switch 15',the two ends of the secondary coil 152' being connected to the terminals211' and 212' of the output terminal section 21' respectively. Thecontact 17' of the relay 16' is connected in parallel to the powerswitch 15', and the two ends of the coil 171' are connected to theterminals 221' and 222' of the input terminal section 22' respectively.

The contact 17" of the relay 16" and the power switch 15" are connectedin parallel between the power plug 12" and the rectifier circuit 14" ofthe third electronic apparatus 80. The output from the rectifier circuit14" is applied to the load circuit 256". The two ends of the coil 171"of the relay 16" are connected to the terminals 221" and 222" of theinput terminal section 22".

By the way, the relays 16' and 16" are energized in response to ACvoltages generated in the secondary coils 152 and 152' of thetransformers making up the signal generator circuits 19 and 19'respectively.

Explanation will be made first of the case in which the output terminalsection 21 of the television receiver 11 is connected to the inputterminal section 22' of the stereophonic amplifier 27 for the purpose ofinterlocked operation between the television receiver 11 and thestereophonic amplifier 27.

The output terminal section 21 is connected to the input terminalsection 22' by the connecting device shown in FIG. 3. The connector 21Ais connected to the output terminal section 21, while the connector 22Ais connected to the input terminal section 22', the cords 24 connectingthe connectors 21A and 22A.

The opening and closing operation of the power switch 15 of thetelevision receiver 11 causes the relay 16' to be energized, thus makingpossible the interlocking between the television receiver 11 and thestereophonic amplifier 27 by the switch 15.

In view of the fact that the contact 17' is closed even though the powerswitch 15' of the stereophonic amplifier 27 is open, the same operationis performed as if the power switch 15' of the stereophonic amplifier 27is closed. In the event that the television receiver 11 is not actuated,the stereophonic amplifier 27 may be turned on by closing the powerswitch 15' of the stereophonic amplifier 27. In this way, theindependent operation of the stereophonic amplifier 27 is possible.

Further, the interlocking between the stereophonic amplifier 27 and thetelevision receiver 11 by the operation of the power switch 15' isrealized by inserting the connecting device of FIG. 3 between the outputterminal section 21' and the input terminal section 22. In this case,the terminal sections 21 and 21' should preferably be of differentshapes, as well as the terminal sections 22 and 22', in order to preventwrong fitting thereof. As mentioned above, the principal-subordinaterelationship is easily realized by merely interchanging the connectioncords. Also, by closing the power switch 15, it is possible to actuatethe television receiver 11 independently, which otherwise might beoperatively interlocked with the stereophonic amplifier 27.

In the operatively interlocked electronic system according to thepresent invention, therefore, the principal-subordinate relationship ofthe interlocked operation between the component electronic apparatusesis easily reversed by the interchange of the connection cords, thuspermitting the subordinate electronic apparatus to be operatedindependently.

Further, unlike the conventional system using the switched plug socket 3wherein a general household power line is prevented from beingcontrolled by preventing the adaptation of other electric appliances tothe switched plug socket 3, a current of small power for driving therelays 16 and 16' is made to flow in the cord 24 and therefore neitherthe switch 4 of the electronic apparatus is broken nor the fuse 41 blowout.

Furthermore, in the case where the interlocked operation with the otherapparatus is desired, the voltage obtained at the output terminalsections 21 and 21' for energizing the relay for the other electronicapparatus may be supplied to an indication lamp or other similar deviceby way of the voltageintroducing device shown in FIG. 5.

In the event that the output terminal sections 21 and 21' are connectedto the input terminal sections 22' and 22" respectively by theconnecting device shown in FIG. 3, the stereophonic amplifier 27 and thethird electronic apparatus 80 may be operatively interlocked with thetelevision receiver 11.

The signal generated in the signal generator circuit 19' is applied tothe coil 171" of the relay 16", so that the third electronic apparatus80 is operatively interlocked with the stereophonic amplifier 27. Sincethe stereophonic amplifier 27 is interlocked with the televisionreceiver 11, both the stereophonic amplifier 27 and the third electronicapparatus 80 are operatively interlocked with the television receiver11.

A circuit diagram showing another example of the television receiver asshown in FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 6.

The switches 115 and 15A are interlocked and the relay 116 has a coupleof contacts 107 and 117. The power plug 12 is connected through the fuse23 to the primary coil 131 of the transformer 13. The secondary coil 134is connected to the filament 51 of the cathode-ray tube 50 or to anindication lamp not shown in the drawing. The secondary coil 133 isconnected to an input terminal of the rectifier circuit 119, the otherinput terminal of which is grounded. The primary coil 131 and thesecondary coil 133 of the transformer 13 and the rectifier circuit 119make up the signal generator circuit 199. One output terminal of therectifier circuit 119 is grounded and the other output terminal thereofis connected through the parallelconnected switches 18 and 15A and thecontact 107 to the terminal 211 of the output terminal section 21, theterminal 212 being grounded. The secondary coil 132 is connected throughthe switch 115 to the rectifier circuit 14, the output voltage of whichis applied through the smoothing circuit 141 and the constant voltagecircuit 142 to the load circuit 256.

The contact 117 of the relay 116 is connected in parallel to the switch115, while one terminal of the coil 100 of the relay 116 is connected tothe terminal 221 of the input terminal section 22, the other terminalthereof being connected to the grounded terminal 222. In this case, thesignal obtained at the output terminal 21 is a DC voltage and thereforethe relay of the electronic apparatus interlocked with the televisionreceiver 11 must be such as to be energized by a DC voltage instead ofan AC voltage unlike the relays 16, 16' and 16" of FIG. 2.

By the operation of the interlocked switches 115 and 15A, theinterlocked operation of the other electronic apparatus having a relaysupplied with a signal from the terminal section 21 is made possible.

In interlocking the operation of the television receiver 11 by theoperation of the other electronic apparatus, a signal generated byclosing the power switch of the other electronic apparatus is applied tothe input terminal section 22. In this way, the television receiver 11is operatively interlocked with the other electronic apparatus.

At the same time, if there is any electronic apparatus supplied with acontrol signal from the terminal section 21, that particular electronicapparatus is also capable of being operatively interlocked. In the casewhere the actuation of the television receiver 11 is desired withoutactuating the other electronic apparatus supplying a signal to theterminal section 22, the closing of the power switch 115 suffices.

If the switch 18, is closed and the connectors 21A and 22A of theconnecting device shown in FIG. 4 are connected to the terminals 21 and22, the television receiver 11 may be subjected to remote control bymeans of the switch 25.

In generally used television receivers in which the filament of thecathode-ray tube is kept turned on in preparation for instantaneousenergization, a power supply is required regardless of the power switchand the instantaneous energization is impossible by the use of theswitched plug socket. By providing a power switch 117 on the secondarycoil 132 side of the transformer 13 as shown in FIG. 6, however, theinstantaneous energization is made possible in the interlocked operationwith the other electronic apparatus.

In addition, if the terminals 211 and 221 are connected with each otherthrough the switch 25 by the connecting device comprising the connectors21A and 22A connected with each other through a manual switch or timerswitch and the cords 24' and 25 as shown in FIG. 4, the on-off operationof the television receiver 11 can be remote-controlled by the switch 25.In this case, the current flowing in the switch 25 is so small that itdoes not damage the switch 25. Also, the voltage applied to the cord 24'required for remote control is a safe low voltage free from an electricshock, differing from the conventional household source voltage.

I claim:
 1. An operatively-interlocked electronic system comprising:afirst electronic apparatus including a first AC power supply, arectifier circuit to which electric power is supplied from said first ACpower supply, a first load circuit to which the output of said rectifiercircuit is applied, a manual power switch inserted in the lineconnecting said first AC power supply to said first load circuit throughsaid rectifier circuit, and a first generator circuit connected to saidfirst AC power supply for decreasing the voltage of said AC power supplyand generating a control signal; a second electronic apparatus includinga second power supply, a secoond load circuit and a first automaticswitch inserted between said second power supply and said second loadcircuit; means for applying the output signal from said signal generatorcircuit to said first automatic switch when said manual power switch isclosed; and means for supplying electric power from said second powersupply to said second load circuit by closing said first automaticswitch in response to said control signal.
 2. An operatively-interlockedelectronic system comprising:a first electronic apparatus including afirst AC power supply, a rectifier circuit, a manual power switchinserted between said first AC power supply and said rectifier circuit,a first load circuit to which a DC voltage generated in said rectifiercircuit is applied, and a first control signal generator circuitconnected through said manual power switch to said first AC power supplyfor decreasing the voltage from said AC power supply and generating acontrol signal; a second electronic apparatus including a second powersupply, a second load circuit and a first automatic switch insertedbetween said second power supply and said second load circuit; and meansfor energizing said first automatic switch in response to an outputsignal from said first signal generator circuit, said first signalgenerator circuit producing the control signal when power is supplied tosaid first load circuit by closing said manual power switch, said firstautomatic switch of said second electronic apparatus being energized bysaid control signal, said second power supply applying power to saidsecond load circuit of said second electronic apparatus.
 3. Anoperatively-interlocked electronic system comprising:a first electronicapparatus including a first AC power supply, a transformer having aprimary coil connected to said first AC supply, a first secondary coiland a second secondary coil, a rectifier circuit with an input terminalconnected to said first secondary coil, a first load circuit to which avoltage obtained from said rectifier circuit is applied, a manual powerswitch inserted in the transmission line leading from said firstsecondary coil through said rectifier cirucit to said first loadcircuit, and a second switch coupled to the output terminal of saidsecond secondary coil and interlocked with said manual power switch; asecond electronic apparatus including a second power supply, a secondload circuit, and an automatic switch inserted between said second powersupply and said second load circuit; and means for coupling said secondsecondary coil of said first electronic apparatus to said automaticswitch through said second switch; said automatic switch of said secondelectronic apparatus being responsive to a voltage generated in saidsecond secondary coil when said first load circuit is supplied withpower from said first AC power supply by closing said manual switch ofsaid first electronic apparatus, said automatic switch being energizedthereby to supply electric power from said second power supply to saidsecond load circuit.
 4. An operatively-interlocked electronic systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said second electronic apparatus furthercomprises a second signal generator circuit for generating a controlsignal when electric power is supplied to said second load circuit;saidsystem further comprising a third electronic apparatus including a thirdpower supply, a third load circuit, and a second automatic switchinserted between said third power supply and said third load circuit;said system further comprising means for energizing said secondautomatic switch by applying the control signal from said second signalgenerator circuit to said second automatic switch; said first automaticswitch being energized and said second load circuit supplied withelectric power in response to the control signal from said first signalgenerator circuit when said first load circuit is supplied with electricpower by closing said manual switch of said first electronic apparatus,said second signal generator circuit producing the control signal uponthe energization of said first automatic switch, said second automaticswitch being energized thereby to supply power to said third loadcircuit in response to said control signal from said second signalgenerator circuit.
 5. An operatively-interlocked electronic systemaccording to claim 2, wherein said second electronic apparatus furthercomprises a second signal generator circuit for generating a controlsignal when electric power is supplied to said second load circuit;saidsystem further comprising a third electronic apparatus including a thirdpower supply, a third load circuit, and a second automatic switchinserted between said third power supply and said third load circuit;said system further comprising means for energizing said secondautomatic switch by applying the control signal from said second signalgenerator circuit to said second automatic switch; said first automaticswitch being energized and said second load circuit supplied withelectric power in response to the control signal from said first signalgenerator circuit when said first load circuit is supplied with electricpower by closing said manual switch of said first electronic apparatus,said second signal generator circuit producing the control signal uponthe energization of said first automatic switch, said second automaticswitch being energized thereby to supply power to said third loadcircuit in response to said control signal from said second signalgenerator circuit.